News

Welcome to the August 2026 issue!
Mozart, Beethoven, Strauss, a famous waltz or two, Ultravox… it’s not as if Vienna lacks pedigree in the musical field. Nonetheless, when it was announced that the annual High End Show would be moving from Munich’s MOC Event Centre, its home for the past 21 years, to a new venue in the Austrian capital, the news was received with some trepidation by regular exhibitors and attendees alike. Change is hard to embrace, even by an industry geared to constant innovation and folks were wondering whether the acoustics, the layout etc. at the Austria Centre would pass muster.

Could Europe’s most prestigious hi-fi event survive the physical and symbolic change of location and still live up to its lofty reputation? As it turned out, yup, no problem. In fact, there was such an abundance of new kit on offer that, alongside launches from Arcam, Neat, Hi-Fi Rose, Pro-Ject and Musical Fidelity to name but a few appearing in our Show Report (p40-43), other debuts spilled over into our Audio File section which is where you’ll find news of forthcoming releases from the likes of Bowers & Wilkins, Cambridge Audio, Eversolo and Ruark.

In other words, there’s plenty to mull over and get excited about.

Enjoy!